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  •  » Boat Wave Ride

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    4/21/2026 7:03 AM  #1

    daily driver
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    Registered: 1/02/2018
    Posts: 137

    Boat Wave Ride

    Greetings Mustangers
    68. 289, The boat ride eludes me.
    Granted it was power steering until it's hoses were dragging across the headers.
    I can't remember if I swapped the gearbox for manual or just removed the power steering stuff.
    Also, I'm running 15" Ford wheels.
    When I restored it in 2012, I replaced everything I can think of except the spindles and upper control arms.
    (I know none of these parts are as good as original. I've already replaced one tie rod at 50,000 miles. Is this normal?)
    I have neoprene strut rod bushings and monte carlo bar.
    As long as the roads are good I have no problem. Drives like a dream.
    When the roads have a little hump it's difficult to drive, waving left and right.
    It's really hard to tell by working feel what is slacking.
    I have lifetime frontend alignment at Firestone. Same guy too, surely he would point out anything gone bad.
    Would you suspect the spindles?
    Upper control arms with anchor bar?
    How about the gear box?
    Thanks for your help!

     

    4/21/2026 4:41 PM  #2

    BroPaul
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    From: Fresno CA
    Registered: 10/04/2023
    Posts: 151

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    Until RPM aligned my fastback it was not fun to drive. I wouldn't trust a chain store - not even a little bit. RPM came to my place, we put her up on cribbing, used steel plate under the fronts with a ziploc internally greased so the suspension would settle and the tires would turn. Then he aligned it with just a touch of toe in and as much caster as he could dial in. 4* if I recall correctly. 
    Game changer. 

    If your guys can't tell you exactly how much toe, camber and caster it has find someone who can or better yet, do it yourself. 

    65 Fastback, 422W, Roller C4, 14" front discs, 9" rear,  front coilovers, SorT A-arms
     

    4/21/2026 6:09 PM  #3

    Texas!
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    Registered: 6/27/2014
    Posts: 237

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    "Firestone" is probably using the original Ford spec for alignment which was based on bias ply tires and does not work for radial tires. What you want is:
    +3* caster
    -0.5* camber
    1/8" toe-in
    If the guy at Firestone refuses to set those specs due to "liability" find a shop that will set it.

    Last edited by Texas! (4/21/2026 7:14 PM)

     

    4/21/2026 8:39 PM  #4

    Nos681
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    From: Atlantic Mine, Michigan
    Registered: 7/14/2016
    Posts: 3,553

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    Did upper ball joints get replaced back in 2012?

    Worn components and/or poor alignment can make steering a task instead of a joy.

     

    4/22/2026 5:40 AM  #5

    TKOPerformance
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    From: Newark, DE
    Registered: 12/15/2014
    Posts: 7,965

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    I've aligned my own cars for many years now because I do not trust the places around here based on bad experiences.  All the good techs who seemed to really know how to align vehicles, especially older vehicles, have retired or died off.  

    Doing your own alignments isn't really all that hard, and can generate results every bit as accurate as having a shop with an alignment machine; it simply takes longer.

     

    4/22/2026 8:02 AM  #6

    BobE
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    From: White Plains, NY
    Registered: 4/04/2013
    Posts: 2,994

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    Agree with the other posts.  I’ll add to check for rust around all the suspension attaching points, some attaching points may be compromised. 

    65 Fastback, 351W, 5-speed, 4 wheel discs, 9" rear,  R&C Front End.
     

    4/22/2026 11:41 AM  #7

    rpm
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    From: Bakersfield, Ca
    Registered: 9/17/2013
    Posts: 3,933

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    If gear box means the steering box, absolutely it can affect your boat ride feeling. IMO it's the least maintained part on our Mustangs. With your being a power assist box it doesn't see much wear, so make sure it's full of grease. If it needs rebuilt, Dan at Chockostang.com does wonders.

    Last edited by rpm (4/24/2026 5:28 PM)

    Bob. 69 Mach 1, 5.0 GT40P heads, SMOD Toploader, Armstrong  steering, factory AC.
     

    4/22/2026 6:27 PM  #8

    TKOPerformance
    Hyper FYIFORD ADDICT

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    From: Newark, DE
    Registered: 12/15/2014
    Posts: 7,965

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    FWIW, what you are describing (wheels change direction when the car hits a bump) is called bump steer, and its quite common with the factory suspension geometry.  It has to do with the front end gaining camber as the suspensions cycles, which has the effect of moving the steering as the spindle angle changes.  There are a couple things that you can do to fix this.  First and foremost would be to do the Shelby/Arning drop, which greatly improves the camber curve and makes the car handle the way it should have from Ford.

    Second, take a look at the tie rods with the car sitting at ride height.  The tie rods should be parallel to the ground.  If they aren't that will magnify any bump steer because the tie rod and LCA will move in different arcs as the suspension cycles.  Different spindles, lowering the front end, etc. can all cause the tie rods to no longer be parallel.  There are ways to correct the tie rod angle if its not right.   

    Last edited by TKOPerformance (4/24/2026 3:52 AM)

     

    4/23/2026 8:47 AM  #9

    daily driver
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    Registered: 1/02/2018
    Posts: 137

    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    BroPaul wrote:

    Until RPM aligned my fastback it was not fun to drive. I wouldn't trust a chain store - not even a little bit. RPM came to my place, we put her up on cribbing, used steel plate under the fronts with a ziploc internally greased so the suspension would settle and the tires would turn. Then he aligned it with just a touch of toe in and as much caster as he could dial in. 4* if I recall correctly. 
    Game changer. 

    If your guys can't tell you exactly how much toe, camber and caster it has find someone who can or better yet, do it yourself. 

    Good advice. I'll check this. Thank you

       •Thread Starter
     

    4/23/2026 8:49 AM  #10

    daily driver
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    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    Nos681 wrote:

    Did upper ball joints get replaced back in 2012?

    Worn components and/or poor alignment can make steering a task instead of a joy.

    I replaced the upper left one a couple years ago. But never have replaced the right upper. 

       •Thread Starter
     

    4/23/2026 8:50 AM  #11

    daily driver
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    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    Nos681 wrote:

    Did upper ball joints get replaced back in 2012?

    Worn components and/or poor alignment can make steering a task instead of a joy.

    Only the left side. Never the right side that I know of.

       •Thread Starter
     

    4/23/2026 8:50 AM  #12

    daily driver
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    Re: Boat Wave Ride

    BobE wrote:

    Agree with the other posts.  I’ll add to check for rust around all the suspension attaching points, some attaching points may be compromised. 

    Thank you

       •Thread Starter
     

     

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